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At the early part of each year, prewar banjo enthusiasts of every stripe converge on the town of Maryville in east Tennesse for an annual celebration of all things banjo, known simply as Banjothon. The 2013 get together was held this past weekend, and Dean Hoffmeyer was there with his camera. Banjothon is not widely promoted, [...]
Due in part to the pivotal town of Bristol, northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia have long been known as one of the locations where traditional country music was founded. Bristol, the location of the 1927 recording sessions which put The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and others on the map, has been honored with the name [...]
Many of today’s younger generation of bluegrass musicians grew up with the artists of the '80s and '90s as their major influences. Contemporary groups such as the Lonesome River Band, IIIrd Tyme Out, and Alison Krauss and Union Station were their main sources of inspiration, and helped to form the sounds those musicians are creating [...]
Among the pre-Christmas releases is The Road Has No End (MC 1212), the latest album from Minnesota-based quintet Monroe Crossing. It’s their thirteenth CD – equating to one album per year since their formation in 2000. Not wanting to push their luck too far, The Road Has No End consists of a generous 14 tracks, [...]
Paul Reed Smith guitars have long had the reputation for making electric, solid-body guitars of the highest quality. Things got started in a small shop in Annapolis, MD during the mid-1980s, with Smith building by hand, by himself. As word of his finely-crafted instruments began to spread, top guitarists like Carlos Santana and Al Di [...]
